TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands (CMC) — Five months after the BVI Tourist Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US based home stay provider Airbnb, local property owners will now be required to pay a hotel accommodation tax.

According to a report following a Cabinet meeting held last month, this stems from an agreement with Airbnb to facilitate tax collection.

The signing of the MoU came at a time when there was a decrease in accommodation for visitors following the onslaught of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

The BVI/Airbnb agreement also created the opportunity for people in the territory to benefit from Airbnb’s Open Homes programme.

Open Homes will allow persons to share the extra space of their homes, for free, with people in need of temporary housing.

Airbnb said the Open Homes programme started in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy hit the United States and several Airbnb hosts opened their homes to those displaced by the disaster.